


That Tree Looks a Little Lonely; Let's Give It a Friend, Shall We?

by Prince_Enby



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Forgiveness, Hobbies, Hurt/Comfort, I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT SUNNYS CHARACTER TAG FJSKDJFK, Kel-centric, Loneliness, Miscommunication, Moving On, Other, Post-Canon, Self-Esteem Issues, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, honestly tho it IS omori do i rly gotta tag everything, the joys of being the little sibling to an overachieving poster child <3, yall know what this games like
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_Enby/pseuds/Prince_Enby
Summary: Kel's trying his best. He's okay. Really! And even if he wasn't, that's okay, too, because he'll deal with it. He always does. No need to bother anyone with it - it'll be fine!Or,Kel learns how to paint, and maybe a few other things.
Relationships: Aubrey & Kel (OMORI), Basil & Kel (OMORI), Hero & Kel (OMORI), Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 203





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally gonna be a oneshot but then i remembered that i require validation to finish literally anything so uhhh have the beginning of whatever the fuck this is and hope i finish it (which i hope i do bc i already have the climax written and i think its gucci :eyesemoji:)

Kel considers himself to be a relatively simple person. He doesn't think it's a flaw; It's just...who he s. He likes dogs, captain spaceboy comics, orange joe, and basketball. He doesn't like pickles, the color pink, math, or sitting still. Playing with his little sister makes him happy. Missing a basket makes him angry. The empty house next door makes him sad. He slots the pieces of his life in simple, concise categories that are easy to understand and easy to remember.

He's not sure where Sunny and Basil fit.

Before Mari died, he would've slotted them firmly with the things he likes. They made him happy. After she died, they remained in his "likes", but moved to things that made him sad. Then Sunny left his house, and he thought, maybe, just maybe they could go back to being things that made him happy, but then -

But now -

He's not sure.

He's not sure how he feels.

He's not sure if he likes them anymore.

Maybe he could make a new list, a list of things that...confused him. It would be a pretty long list, admittedly, but at least then they wouldn't be in that weird limbo in his mind. He hasn't used a planner a day in his life, but he preferred his head to be as easy to understand as possible. God knows other people have no clue what goes on inside there, and it's his head. He thinks he deserves to know what's in it.

He decides to make a new category. "Unsure." Sunny and Basil fit there perfectly, and it's like a weight off his shoulders to have them away from the forefront of his mind and in a neat little box. 

He'll unwrap it and put them in their proper places later. Right now, he's eating lunch at Gino's with his older brother, an action that he places firmly in the "Likes" and "Happy" categories. Later, they're going to read comics at Hobbeez, and then Hero's going to go home to study and Kel will spend the rest of the day trying to improve his three-point shot.

~~~

_It was dark. Dark enough that Kel couldn't quite make out where he was. He couldn't see the floor, couldn't see the walls, couldn't see the ceiling - nothing. He could barely see his own hands right in front of him. He took a step, soundless in the abyss, and then another, but he got the impression he was going nowhere._

_It was dark._

_Suddenly, there was a click, and then a blinding light shone down from somewhere above him. In the center, was Hero. Tall and proud and mighty, standing in the spotlight. Kel rushed forward, eager to meet his brother, but there was an invisible barrier separating them. The dark was slowly becoming more and more sinister the longer he stared at the light enveloping his brother. Its tendrils curled around his limbs and hissed in his ear and made him Afraid. Hero beckoned him with an expectant look. Kel pushed and banged and tried but no matter what he did he could not get past the wall between them._

_The wall that was keeping him away from the light._

_Then, as if on a platform, Hero began to rise. Slowly floating above him, higher and higher, and tracked by the spotlight and taking it with him. Kel tried to jump, to wave his arms and yell, but the dark was insistent. It coiled around his mouth, around his ankles, and trapped him. He felt it dragging him down, slowly lowering him farther and farther away from the light that his brother was taking farther and farther up._

_He met his brother's eyes, and saw nothing but pity and disappointment._

Kel woke with a start, struggling to breathe and clawing at the remnants of dark whisps holding him down. He was wrapped up in it, stuck and bound and he needed to get it off. He fumbled for his phone on his nightstand, turning it on and using its light to see -

It was just his blanket.

Ugh.

Feeling like an idiot, he turned his phone back off and worked to untangle himself from his comfortable prison. He kicked it off his bed as soon as he was freed, then went back to his phone to check the time.

"Ugh." He said. It was four in the morning. The moon shone through the window, the light glinting faintly off the many trophies on the far side of the room. Kel's eyes followed the glow and was relieved to see he hadn't woke Hero up. That would've been embarrassing...

He flopped back onto his back and stared at the ceiling. His heart was still beating rapidly from the nightmare, and there was a phantom tickling of tendrils trying to tie him down. His mouth was dry.

With a groan, he tossed his phone down on top of his blankets, and closed his eyes, willing himself to go back to sleep, nightmares be damned.

It was four in the fucking morning.

~~~

Kel woke up to the smell of eggs and vanilla. He shot out of bed and almost immediately slipped on the blanket lying on the floor, hitting the floor with a thud. He lay prone for just a moment, whining at his now-aching back, before reluctantly pulling himself up. He stepped - carefully - over his blankets, picking up his phone and tossing them in a heap on the bed before booking it out of the room and down the stairs. He jumped over the bottom step, stumbled, and swung into the kitchen to see Hero cooking breakfast.

Hero smiled, and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Good morning, Kel," He greeted, "What was that I heard upstairs?"

Kel inhaled deeply, smelling the delicious scent of omelettes and french toast, and said, "Dunno, but I can tell you that I definitely did not slip and fall, thank you."

Hero snorted. "Was it the blanket?"

"It was the blanket."

They shared a chuckle while Kel stretched and stepped further in the kitchen. Hero cracked an egg and poured it in a pan on the stove. It sizzled delightfully, and he handed Kel the eggshells to throw away. On his return, he looked over with a concerned eye. "You're not hurt, though, are you?" 

"Nah, you know me. I'm fine." Kel said. He yawned, and rubbed a spot on his hip that still ached. It wasn't a lie, though. At worst he got a new bruise, and he got those all the time just by being himself.

Hero looked him up and down, as if double checking his words. Satisfied, he smiled, and turned back to the stove to flip the omelette. Kel tried to sneak a piece of french toast on his other side. Hero whacked him with a spoon.

Kel huffed, and held his hand to his chest in a show of dramatics. Hero shook his head, and ordered him to start setting the table, preferably without eating any of the food. Kel whined, but complied, gathering plates and silverware and glasses and taking them to the dining room. Once the table was appropriately spiffy enough for eating, he turned back to the kitchen.

And paused.

From his position in the kitchen, Hero appeared to be standing right beneath the light bulb. He stood in his pajamas, with socks on his feet, and humming quietly to some pop song that had been on the radio a few weeks ago. The light shone above his head, illuminating him, and Kel was suddenly struck with the memories of his nightmare. It was nonsensical, that such a normal, everyday view of his brother would invoke the same fear he'd felt in his sleep, but it did. He gulped, trying to steady his rapidly increasing heartbeat.

 _It's just Hero,_ he thought, _It's literally just Hero. No weird, grabby darkness, no walls, nothing. Just Hero._

Just to prove his point, he took a step forward, entering the kitchen. No barrier keeping him out, no tendrils pulling him back. Just cool, kitchen tile beneath his feet. His breath shuddered. 

Hero turned around. Seeing him, his mouth ticked downward. "Kel? You okay?" He asked.

Kel looked at him. In his eyes, he saw concern and worry and love. No pity, no disappointment. Just brotherly care. They didn't rise or fall, didn't drift away. They stayed right where they were, staring at him in concern.

It was fine.

Kel smiled, relieved. "M'fine, just tired. It was pretty hot last night, I had some trouble sleeping." He not-quite-lied. He really was tired, as was showcased by the huge yawn that broke out of him.

Hero hummed, and turned back to the stove. "That explains why your blanket was on the floor."

"Haha, yeah."

Eventually, their parents came downstairs and they all ate breakfast. The omelettes had bits of bell pepper and tomato cooked into them, and the french toast was covered in powered sugar and cinnamon. They talked about everything and nothing, laughing at bad jokes, cooed at Sally's incoherent babbling, and the memory of sinking into isolated darkness almost left Kel's mind.

~~~

He missed the Hideout, really he did. There was something peaceful about the still waters and strange statue, something calming in the sway of the leaves and smell of wildflowers. Innocent laughter echoed faintly in his peripheral.

Of course, he can't stay here forever. Aubrey's group of friends use it just as often as he used to, and while they may no longer hate him per se, they really only tolerate him for Aubrey's sake. Even when they weren't hanging out here, night did come eventually.

He sighed, smiling sadly at his reflection in the water.

He wished he could imprint this place permanently in his memory.

~~~

"Trash."

"Trash."

"Trash."

"Ugh, trash."

"Aw, c'mon!"

"It was trash the moment you brought it up here in the first place!"

Kel pouted, but obligingly tossed the toaster in the trash bag. So far, nearly everything in the treehouse had been labelled trash by the iron fist that was Aubrey. The only thing saved from her wrath so far was Mr. Plantegg and maybe one of the cookbooks.

Kel accused her of favoritism.

She whacked him with the stuffie.

He conceded to her point.

Things were...strange between them. Not quite tense, but not quite comfortable, either. The offer to help clean out the treehouse and yard around it was an olive branch, a chance to let each other grow more used to each other's presence in a familiar environment. They hadn't really talked since the Incident, and even now, what conversation they made was light-hearted and mundane.

They talked about the latest edition of Captain Spaceboy, with Kel telling her in no uncertain terms that while she was objectively wrong about everything ever, he was willing to agree to disagree for the sake of friendship. They talked about their respective sports, Aubrey admitting to not knowing the names of half the people on her softball team and Kel saying he didn't know the last names of anyone on his basketball team. Kel asked her what was up with her and Kim. She sputtered and threatened to push him out the window.

It was nice.

Up until she stopped. She looked at him oddly from the corner of her eyes, biting her lip, and seemed to be debating something. He tilted his head, curious, and let her collect her thought. After a few minutes, she huffed, and turned to look at him. There was a hesitant, yet determined look to her as she crossed her arms and asked, "Are you okay?"

Kel blinked. Huh?

"Huh?" He said, intelligently. She rolled her eyes and raised a hand up to play with her bangs.

"It's just," She started, deliberated for a moment, and continued, "We've all pretty much had our emotional bullshit aired out, you know, me 'n Hero. Not you, though." She looked away, then, and scowled, "Just wanna make sure your not holdin' out for some stupid reason, s'all."

Kel blinked again, touched and just a little apprehensive. He's pretty sure he's fine. He'd know if he wasn't fine, right? Right. So if he thought he was fine, then he probably was. Boom! Logic.

Still, though, he appreciated her asking. It was really nice of her. He told her so, and she flushed and hit him with Mr. Plantegg again. They were both smiling, though.

Again, it was nice. 

~~~

He looked out at the finished product. No scattered toys, no wilted paper plants - even the TV had been ceremoniously dropped from the entrance and dragged off somewhere.

That was fun.

He missed the mess a little, though. They were all little memories in-and-of themselves, and now they're off to the trash heap. He sighed, and made to lay down under the ladder, only to yelp and jump away from the ground as quickly as possible. Stupid glass screen TVs.

Across the yard, Aubrey laughed her ass off. He joined in.

He's pretty sure he got cut, though.

~~~

Hero'd been studying all week, for some ungodly reason. He's tried explaining to Kel that normal school's and university's ideas of summer break were different, but the prospect of having to deal with that after he graduates is daunting enough that Kel blocks the explanation from his memory every time he hears it.

Despite his voluntary amnesia, though, Kel noted that Hero seemed a little more stressed than usual about...whatever he's reading. He'd been at it for hours now, flipping through the same pages, writing and erasing and re-writing and re-erasing so quickly it was a miracle he hadn't worn a hole through the paper yet. He had to hold back a laugh when his head dropped to the desk with a thunk and he whined like he was on the verge of tears. He probably was. Kel heard college students did that sometimes.

Still, Kel sympathized with his brother, and decided to do something nice. He'd cook dinner! Free food, and one less thing Hero would have to worry about doing that night! 

He wasn't a half-bad chef, either. He took up cooking when Hero dropped it and left for college, and thought it was pretty fun. He decided he'd make sauted chicken that night - simple, but delicious. He picked out a few veggie sides, set aside some plates, and a few funky dances while lip-syncing into a spatula later dinner was ready. 

Hero stumbled into the dining room while he was making the table, bleary-eyed and clearly not having noticed how late it was. "Kel? You made dinner?" He asked.

"Yup!" Kel said cheerily, failing hilariously at trying to open Sally's high chair. Hero raised an eyebrow and took it, opening it easily and in one fluid motion. Kel smiled sheepishly. "I didn't think you'd wanna be bothered, you seemed pretty deep in those books."

"Haha, I guess I was pretty focused..." Hero said, scratching his cheek. Kel does not tell him that he knew exactly how focused he was because he'd made a game of seeing how many of his pens and pencils he could replace with slightly different ones, because he valued being allowed in his own bedroom when Hero was studying. Hero looked at him, unaware of the fact that none of the writing utensils in his pencil bag were the ones he came home with, and smiled. "Thank you, Kel. This means a lot to me."

Kel beamed. "No problem! Cooking's not half bad, anyway."

Their parents were eventually drawn by the smell of food, and everyone sat down to eat. It was really good, if he did say so himself. And he did! By the look on his face, Hero seemed to agree. Pride made him feel warm and giddy, and a smile found its way on his face as they ate.

Mom looked up from her plate. "I must say, Hero, you really outdid yourself tonight. This is delicious!" She said. Dad nodded his agreement. Right, he kind of forgot to tell them he'd be using the kitchen...

Hero blinked at her, and shook his head. "Actually, Kel cooked dinner tonight. I was busy studying."

Their parents made noises of surprise, and turned to look at him. "Really, Kel?" Dad asked. He nodded, feeling his smile strain a bit. Did they have to act so shocked? He's cooked dinner plenty of times! 

He didn't point it out, though, instead saying, "Yeah, just thought I'd do something nice, y'know?"

"You know, Kel, if you're interested in cooking then you should get Hero to teach you." Mom said, tilting her head placatingly, "It's very important to cook your meats correctly, and the chicken is a little on the rare side."

His eye twitched.

"Oh, not that I'm saying it's bad! It's still very tasty!" She ensured, "Just...make sure you're more careful in the future, okay sweetie?"

"Alright, mom. I will." He said, turning back to his food. His appetite was gone, and the food bland, but he kept eating regardless. He felt eyes on him for the rest of the meal.

He was the first one to finish, used to eating fast and eager to get it over with, and rinsed his plate quickly before retreating back to his room. He flopped onto his bed with hands beneath his head and focused on breathing.

_They've just been spoiled by Hero's cooking,_ he told himself, _he's had way more experience cooking than me, of course his food is better. It's just food, anyway. It doesn't matter that much._

He sighed and pointedly did not look to his left. It was fine. He was fine.

Hero came in not long after, thanking him again for cooking and going back to his books. The scratching of pencil on paper filled the room, and it was almost serene. Kel closed his eyes and considered going to bed early. He couldn't exactly stay up playing video games with Hero trying to study only a few feet away.

The scratching stopped. Kel didn't look, thinking he was just reading something, when a soft voice spoke out.

"She was wrong, you know. You cooked it right."

Kel gulped.

"...Thanks." He mumbled, and turned on his side. He'd go to bed early.

After a silent pause, during which he could feel Hero staring at him, the scratching started back up again. He fell asleep to muffled curses and the sound of balled up paper.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall ao3 keeps making my fics single-chapter when i upload them even when i check the right boxes 😔 *sunny voice* sadness

Kel first met Sunny when they were six years old. Hero and Mari were in the same fourth grade class, and had been assigned an arts-and-crafts projects to do together. They were next-door neighbors, so Hero had been allowed to stay at her house for a few hours while they worked on it together. He had taken Kel with him, naturally, because Kel heard someone mention she had a little brother and demanded to make a new friend.

Mari met him with a warm smile, comforting and full of love even back then, and her parents led him and Sunny to the backyard to play while she and Hero worked. Sunny was shy and nervous, fiddling with the hem of a baby blue t-shirt and staring at him with apprehension. 

Kel remembered how amazed he'd been at the size of the backyard when he first stepped foot in it. It was easily twice as big as his own, and he'd ran across the whole thing twice before remembering Sunny's presence. 

"Hey," he remembered saying, grabbing Sunny's hand and pointing, "How high can you climb that tree?"

Sunny shook his head, staring at their hands but not pulling away. Kel's eyes widened.

"You haven't climbed it before?! Seriously?!"

Another shake.

"It's so tall and cool though! C'mon!" With that, he ran to The Tree in question, yanking Sunny along. He let go when they got to the trunk and jumped at the nearest branch he could find. He tried pulling himself up, but couldn't quite get up, so he looked down and said, "Hey, can ya gimme a push?"

Sunny blinked at him, and cautiously grabbed his legs, pushing him up with a quiet grunt. It worked though! Kel found himself giggling and looking down at the world on the branch. He offered a hand down to pull Sunny up, only for Sunny to shake his head vigorously.

"Huh? You scared of heights or somethin'?" He asked. Sunny nodded, eyeing his hand fearfully. Kel pouted. "Aw man...I'm gonna be an astronaut y'know, and when I am I'm gonna take all my friends to the moon. How am I gonna take you though if you're scared of heights?"

Sunny's eyes widened slightly, before his expression became downcast. His lip quivered and his head was hunched between his shoulders. Kel decided he didn't like seeing his new friend so sad.

He huffed, and swung so that he was hanging upside down by his legs. "It's cool," He assured, "I'm gonna be a pirate, too. You can be my first mate! That means when I'm on the moon you get to be captain of the ship, I think. How's that?"

Sunny looked back up at that, and after a moment, his lips quirked up a bit and he nodded. Kel beamed. Success! He whooped and swung his arms, only for that to disrupt his balance and he fell off the branch in a heap. Sunny hovered over him worriedly, but Kel just laughed it off. Falling is half the fun when climbing a tree, after all!

"Hey, hey," Kel asked after he'd picked himself up, "Wanna play cops'n'robbers?"

Sunny tilted his head, and after having the game explained to him, nodded.

They had so much fun they never noticed when the sliding door opened, and their respective siblings watched them run around with smiles on their faces.

~~~

Pathetic whimpering came from the other side of his bedroom door. Kel squinted at the slab of wood, and slowly opened it to reveal the saddest man he'd ever known. He sighed inaudibly. 

Hero sat curled up in a ball on Kel's bed, gripping Kel's blankets around him and glaring bloody murder at the other side of the room. Of course it was the one day that Kel decided to make his bed that it would be ruined by someone other than himself.

Hero's eyes flicked to him fearfully before returning to their sentinel. He could not see Kel's judgemental stare. "Kel..." He whined.

"Hero." Kel replied.

"Kel."

"Hero."

_"Kel."_

There were actual tears in his eyes.

This man paid taxes.

Kel sighed, louder this time, before walking to Hero's side of the room. _"Fine._ Where is it?"

Hero raised a shaky hand and pointed at one of his shelves. Kel walked up to it, taking down each of the trophies and coughing at the dust until he came across one with a spider web between it and the wall. In the center was a spindly little spider that Kel squashed without remorse. His hand was covered in dust and web when he removed it, and he clicked his tongue.

"I-is it dead?" Hero asked from his blanket fortress. Kel walked over and showed the dusty corpse in response. Hero's nose crinkled in disgust, but he visibliy relaxed regardless. His relief was pitiable enough that Kel had to leave lest he actual start feeling bad for him. He returned from flushing the unfortunate arachnid to find Hero standing in front of the shelves with a frown.

He'd also remade Kel's bed. It was neater than when Kel did it in the first place, so he couldn't find it in him to complain.

Hero looked at him when he came in. "When's the last time these have been cleaned?" He asked, gesturing towards the (many) shelves of trophies. Kel shrugged. He had enough trouble keeping his side of the room clean, much less Hero's. Hero frowned.

And that's how they spent the rest of the day dusting shelves.

Kel pouted as he wiped another trophy with a moist cloth. After the fifth time he sneezed and dropped something, he'd been delegated to cleaning the trophies while Hero took care of the shelves themselves. He didn't envy his brother, who had a scarf tied around his lower face and who's bed was now absolutely covered in dust. There hadn't been any other spider webs though, thank god.

Still, Kel had to hold in a groan as he stared at his golden reflection. He'd lost count of how many awards Hero had years ago, and didn't think he wanted to know. He had to keep them some semblance of organized though, so Hero didn't have a conniption trying to organize them himself more than anything, and separated them into different groups as he cleaned. Math, science, writing, social studies, leadership...How the hell do you get a medal for leadership, anyway?

He huffed. The trophy he'd finished cleaning went into the science group. He put it with the others, label turned away, and picked up a new one. This one had a cobweb on the inside. The sight was vaguely amusing.

Okay, so maybe he avoided cleaning Hero's trophies on purpose.

He didn't mean anything malicious by it. It was just...hard to look at them sometimes. There were so many of them for so many subjects. He'd been collecting them for years, long and often enough that Mari used to joke that they probably just gave him awards for bothering to show up at all. It was all fun and games when they were younger, but now...

He looked at his own wall, covered in posters and not much else.

Now, there was a bitter little something eating away at his pride for his brother. It bit into him with every shine, every shimmer of gold, every #1 that catches his eye. He didn't like it very much.

Kel sighed, and pushed the feeling away. Hero would have questions if he turned to find him scowling at his reflection, and Kel wasn't sure how he'd answer. 

He wiped away the cobweb. This one was for first place in an eighth grade social studies fair. He sneezed.

~~~  
He wanted to play basketball practically ever since he was big enough to actually hold the ball. Other sports were okay, but the constant motion and smell of leather drew him. Somewhere in his closet was a cheap binder full of cards he spent years collecting before his parents got tired of buying him a new pack every two days.

Hero wasn't very good at the game, as he is with most things requiring physical activity, but he was always tall enough that he got a sense of accomplishment beating him at it anyway. Mari actually gave him a challenge, but had to stop playing with him when she hurt her knee. Aubrey only played with him when he promised to play softball with her, but both games always ended in them bickering. Sunny and Basil were probably the only people in existance worse than Hero.

He always wound up playing by himself eventually. It was fine, though. Adrenaline is a good distraction from loneliness.

~~~

He was gardening with Basil today. He's...not entirely sure how that happened. From the glances Basil gave him, it looked like he didn't know either. That was fine. Mutual confusion was pretty common when the two of them were left alone.

It started when Basil was in the candy store.

That wouldn't have been a problem, normally, if Kel wasn't also in the candy store. Specifically, he was in the back of the store and Basil was at the display in the front, blocking his escape. He was blissfuly unaware of his strategic placement, though, and Kel knew this because if Basil knew he was here then he would've ran off ages ago.

It was a little depressing, actually. Kel didn't like making people scared.

That in mind, with the added thought that Basil seemed to be scared of almost everything these days and if he didn't calm down a little he'd probably have a heart attack at the ripe age of 23, Kel bounded up to the front counter and dropped a hand on his shoulder. He squeaked and jumped half a foot in the air, looking back at him frightfully. Whoops. 

"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you." Kel said apologetically. He could practically hear the poor boy's pulse. "How've ya been, Basil?"

Basil visibly gulped and smiled nervously. "O-oh, um...I've been...okay. Uh, y-you?"

Kel grinned. "Pretty good!" He said.

They stood there awkwardly. Basil fiddled with his thumbs, glancing anxiously at the exit. Kel bounced on the balls of his feet and whistled.

"Sooo...you doin' anything later?"

And now he's here, dirt on his knees and carrying pots as directed. Apart from Basil's instructions and explanations, they hadn't really said anything. Which was...fine. He's not sure what they'd talk about anyway.

He's still not sure how he felt about them. He knew he was upset, in a vague sort of way. The situation sucked, and what they did sucked, but -

Well, it was complicated. He's still working it out.

Groaning, he threw it from his mind. _"Basil,"_ he whined, "Why do you have so many plants? There's like a bajillion of them!"

Basil giggled. "You've only moved twenty pots, Kel. There's a lot more inside."

"But _why??_ "

"Hmm..." He hummed, looking at a pot thoughtfully, "I guess...They help me feel grounded, I guess. And no, that was not a pun, I can see you laughing."

Kel valiantly pretended not to have been laughing. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well...they give me something to focus on? A-and there's a sense of, uh, progress, I guess, when one of them blooms. Especially compared to the plants I had when I first started gardening. It's like proof I'm getting better at something."

Kel thought about that. It made sense. Definite proof of improvement...sounded really nice. "Cool."

Basil smiled at him. He didn't look so scared anymore. He continued, "It is. Cool, I mean...And there's no expectation with my gardening, either. Most people can't really tell the difference between a healthy sprout and one that's been negelcted, unless it's browning or severely wilting...So I don't really have to worry about whether other people think I'm good at it or not. It's something just for me."

That gave Kel a pause as he processed it. No expectations...something just for him? That sounded...really good. Not having to worry about disappointing other people with it, only his opinion mattering...

Yeah. That sounded good.

"It's nice you've got something like that, dude." He said, definitely not jealous, "Seems like it's a big help."

"It is." Basil said simply.

~~~

He and Aubrey tried to talk about what happened, once. It was right after Sunny told them the truth. Hero and Aubrey stormed out, wearing very different emotions, and after escorting Sunny back to his hospital room he had tried to find them.

He found Aubrey first, crying alone in one of the smoking areas of the first floor, and sat quietly next to her, under no illusions that asking if she was okay would go over well. After a few tense moments filled with quiet sobs, she wiped her tears.

_"I, I just don't get why he would do it,"_ she said, _"Neither of them got angry easy. How could a stupid recital push them that far? They were basically like you and Hero. Have the two of you ever gotten that mad over shit like that?"_

There was a pit in his stomach. He said he didn't think so. He also thought he was lying.

~~~

Kel spent a lot of time at Hobbeez. Faraway was a pretty small town, so there wasn't much for a teenager to do. There was Gino's, the park, and then Hobbeez. That was it.

Normally, when Kel went to Hobbeez, it was to gawk at figurine prices and read comics. This time, though, he was looking around the aisles and trying not to be too obviously nervous. His conversation with Basil had been on his mind for weeks now, and he finally worked up the nerve to try something.

For Basil, gardening was something meant just for him. No external pressures, no judgey comments - just him and his own personal progress. Kel...kinda wanted something of his own like that.

He had basketball, of course, but that was different. He doesn't just play it for himself anymore. He was on a team - if he let himself slip and get rusty, he'd bring the team down and get kicked off. And then Hero would be disappointed, and his parents would give him another lecture, and -

It wouldn't be fun.

Not that he doesn't think the sport itself is fun anymore - he loves basketball, can't even imagine disliking it. It's just - different, now, from when he used to play it as a kid. And besides, he's been playing basketball forever. It would be nice to do something new, he thinks.

But he still needs to actually find something.

He sighed, and crossed his arms. He's probably looked around the whole store three times by now, and he's coming to the realization that there wasn't actually a lot to do here. Hobbeez seemed to be less of a hobby store and more of a nerd store, actually.

He squinted. Did that make him a nerd for coming here so often?

...

...Maybe Aubrey's group was right to call him lame.

"Whatever." He said aloud. He was getting distracted. Not that there was much to be distracted from, anyway. He groaned, about to call it quits and leave, when a splash of color caught his eye. It was a boxed set of paints, brightly colored and shiny. He'd passed by it multiple times, and dismissed it each time, but...well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Painting can't be too bad, right?

Decision made, he grabbed the box, scanning the rest of the aisle until he found a set of brushes and a canvas. Only one, though. He didn't want to waste any more of his allowance if it turned out this wasn't much fun.

He paid for his goods, the clerk giving him a curious look but thankfully not saying anything, and left the store feeling strangely excited. He was kind of looking forward to this.

Fortunately, no one was there when he got home. There really wasn't a good reason for him to hide this from his family. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong; It was just painting. Still, he got the feeling that if they found out about his new hobby, there'd be...pressure. Some sort of expectations, even if they never really took an interest in it.

His brow furrowed. What if they found out and...really just didn't care?

...He decided not to think about it. They weren't going to find out, so it didn't matter. It was going to be his harmless little secret. 

He shoved the supplies as far into his closet as he could, which was actually really far because he kept a stupid amount of blankets in there and could just move them around to cover them. He closed the closet door, picked up his phone, and sat down on his bed.

Now, he just needed to decide what to paint. Landscapes? People? He thought trying to paint people might be a bit too advanced for his current skill (read: none), so...Landscapes it was. He searched up "how to paint landscapes" and picked the first video link he saw.

Two hours later, Hero found him curled up on his bed gawking at an episode of Bob Ross. He looked fondly exasperated. Kel was too focused on a mountain to notice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh tw: body horror/gore for this one?? starts at "He was twelve years old" and ends at "Hero would not help". 
> 
> its my first time writing something like that so i dont think its too bad?? but ill put a summary in the end notes if ya want

His first idea was to paint a tree or something. It would've been simple and an easy test of whether the whole 'art' thing fitted him. But then, when he googled images of trees, he realized painting a tree was boring as hell. 

His second idea was to paint a bowl of fruit. What were they called, "still-lifes"? Famous painters did it all the time. And, in hindsight, some fruit in a bowl was defintely more simple than a whole tree. It didn't seem like a bad idea...until he realized he'd have to _borrow_ a bowl and some fruit. His mom would notice a bowl missing, and Hero would definitely notice some fruit disappearing and then _reappearing_.

His third idea was to paint his basketball. It was just a circle, and he took it with him everywhere anyway... That sounded lame even to him, though, so that was scrapped.

He thought, then, maybe he could just...walk around Faraway Town and see if anything caught his eye. He walked down his street, _across_ his street, down Aubrey's and Basil's streets, around the park and around the plaza. He walked at a leisurely pace and just...looked. He looked at the weeds in the sidewalk, at the stray cats jumping into bushes, at the birds perched on wires. He hadn't really done that before. It was nice.

Nothing really stood out to him, though. While he couldn't really _regret_ his walk, he still arrived home disappointed.

The paint sat under his bed another day.

~~~

Kel was used to spending entire days doing nothing but playing basketball. Sometimes there were other kids from his team at the park willing to play a game. Sometimes it was just him and the court. Sometimes he'd only shoot a few baskets and break off to do something else, only to eventually come back to shoot a few more. Sometimes he'd get so immersed that the only reason he remembered to come home at all was the alarm he'd set on his phone reminding him of dinner.

It was relaxing for him. The rythmic thumping of the ball against the concrete, the feel of the leather on the palms of his hands. He was never one for sitting still, always consumed by a need to _move move move_ , and basketball gave him the perfect way to get that energy out. On bad days especially, it was the only way to quiet his mind enough for him to _think_. Or _avoid_ thinking. Whichever one he needed.

Right now, he's pretty sure he's looking more to be _distracted_ than anything. He woke up with his brain buzzing with almost-thoughts, and an itch under his skin that made everything lacklustre. He was painfully bored, enough that he wanted to tear off his skin and crack open his skull. His head was full in the way that needed to _rest_ more than be heard. He knew from experience that the feeling would only get worse the longer he was left with nothing to do, and so was out the door as soon as he'd finished breakfast and made a beeline for the park.

_(Very few times did hitting the court not help. He does not remember what exact thoughts go through his head when he gets that bad. On days like those, he would lock his bedroom door and lay on his bed listening to music. Even his parents learned to bother him as little as possible on days like those._  
He hasn't had one while Hero was visiting before.  
He's hoping he never will.)

He's distracted, that's for sure. Unfortunately, it's not the thrill of yet another basket keeping him distracted, though. In fact, he's been actively _missing_ baskets more times in a row than he thinks he's ever has. He scowled as he walked over to where the ball landed after bouncing off the rim _again_ and looked over his shoulder.

On the other side of the park, barely noticeable, was Aubrey and her gang. They were laughing and joking around, not unusual or surprising sight in the slightest. Normally, anyway. However.

However.

Basil was with them.

Basil was _hanging out_ with them.

He was standing a little away from them, yes, and didn't seem to be participating all that much, yes, but Aubrey was standing _right beside_ him with an arm slung over his shoulder. Casual. Friendly. _Comfortable._

It was weird and off-putting and strangely _painful_ and Kel wanted to squeeze something until it _snapped_. The humming hadn't gone away and this wasn't helping it even a little. His thoughts were already jumbled together from waking up wrong, his heartbeat could be felt in his ears, his hands were tingling with a painful energy that he just _couldn't work off-_

He missed another basket. He growled and balled his fists. He did not walk over to pick it back up.

He wasn't _angry_ , he thought, just - frustrated. Frustrated and confused. He was stupid and bad at thinking on a good day, and this was very much _not a good day._ His thoughts felt like a rickety water faucet someone had turned up too high. He tried to stick a hand in to feel them but that just made them go everywhere. 

_Why was Basil hanging out with Aubrey? Why was she so close with him? Why didn't he look about to bolt? Have they been hanging out this entire time? Has she been talking to Sunny? Why isn't Basil that comfortable with_ him _? Did he want Basil to be that comfortable with him? Did he care? Did he forgive them? Did he_ want _to forgive them? **What would Hero think?**_

"Kel?"

He inhaled sharply. Somehow, he'd ended up sitting on the ground with his head in his knees. He was grabbing his hair painfully, and slowly worked to detach his hands from his head. He breathed in deeply. He looked up.

"Sup." He said as he leaned back casually. He did this to hopefully cover up his surpise at finding Aubrey and her entourage standing in front of him. He remembered them walking over here about as well as he remembered sitting down, which was to say, not at all. 

Aubrey scowled at him, which did absolutely nothing to hide the worried quirk in her brow or the fact the she was crouched down to meet his level. Basil was standing right behind her, eyes wide in concern and hands fluttering nervously. Even the rest of the gang, lingering a few paces back, were looking at him strangely.

"Don't _'''sup'''_ me, dumbass. The hell is wrong with you?" Aubrey snapped, arms crossed. Her eyes flicked over his face. He wondered belatedly what she saw.

"Uh," He said, trying desperately to come up with a plausable excuse, "I, um. Uh. Er..." Mission failed.

"You _what_?" Aubrey said impatiently. She looked angry. Then again, she always looked angry. It might just be her default emotion whenever she was caught off guard. That would explain a lot.

Basil, his light and savior, stepped forward. "Kel, are you, um, sick..?" He asked like an angel. Kel latched onto it like a lifeline.

" _Yes!_ " He said, and shot up. "I, uh, ate something. It was gross. I think I got food poisoning." To further illustrate his point, he held his stomach with one arm and his mouth with the other, feigning nausea. Basil gasped, worried. Aubrey, though, eyed him suspiciously.

"That so?" She said, head cocked, clearly not sold over, "What'd you eat?"

Kel sent a pychic apology to his heart of hearts, and threw a thumb over his shoulder. "I might've had a few bottles of Orange Joe from the vending machine."

Basil scrunched his nose. Aubrey gagged. Kel called them heretics in his mind.

"Ugh, god. I can't believe you still drink that shit. You're just asking for diabetes." Aubrey shuddered. He called her overdramatic. "Tch, whatever. If you got sick over that then that's your own stupid fault. I'm not holding your hair back if you throw up."

"I-If you do feel like throwing up you should probably head home, though!" Basil chimed in. He looked genuinely concerned. Kel felt bad about tricking him.

_(Why should he?)_

"I might just do that..." He said. His head still felt funny, but there was no point in trying to fix it here. "Thanks, Basil."

Basil smiled. Basil's smiled were always nice. Kel smiled back.

"Hey! I was the one that came to check on you!" 

"Yeah, yeah, you too, Aubrey." 

~~~

_He was twelve years old and standing in a grassy clearing. The sky was grey. In his hands was a half-made flower crown. The colors and flowers changed every time he blinked, but all the combinations were beautiful and warm._

_He looked forward. There was a group of kids on a blanket. They were all making flower crowns. They all looked happy and innocent. He missed them. He was happy to see them. Mari looked up at him, and smiled. He smiled back._

_There was a sniffle behind him. He blinked, confused, and turned around. There, a break in the clouds allowed a ray of sunlight to land on a Treestump. It had a lazily moving pinwheel in the middle. There was a boy kneeling in front of it, smashed petals all around him. The boy turned to meet his eyes. It was Hero._

_"What do you think you're doing?" Hero hissed. His voice was angry and hurt, but his face was stricken with grief and tears._

_He didn't know what to do with that. He didn't know how to help his brother. He wanted to, though. He wanted his brother to feel better. He turned back to the picnic. Mari would know what to do._

_Except, it was all wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong **wrong**._

_Aubrey's flower crown had migrated from the top of her head to around her eyes. Its thorns stabbed into her face and blood dripped from the wounds like beads of rain. She smiled despite it, though, and hummed a happy tune. She couldn't see the blood. It was fine._

_Sunny had a large bloodied flower growing where his right eye should've been. That entire side of his face was slick with blood, matting his hair and staining his clothes. The vines and stalk of the flower grew out of his mouth, wrapping around his neck and choking him with leaves and blood. He was picking up petals as they fell, holding them reverently as if they were gifts._

_Basil had numberous roots and sprouts leeching out of him. They poked through his skin and dug into the ground. Some of them were still just buds. Others bloomed into disgustingly beautiful blossoms. He used a pair of garden shears to skillfully snip off the best of the flowers and handed them to the others to be used in crown making. Each broken stalk bled. He cried as much as he smiled._

_Mari had a flower crown tight around her neck like a noose, its thorns thick and stabbing. There was no blood. The dead did not bleed. She was still staring at him._

_He coughed. It tasted like iron. A petal came out._

_Flowers were blooming and growing within his chest and his throat and his mouth. Their thorns filled him with blood. He could not speak. He could barely breathe._

_He spun back around to Hero. Help, he wanted to cry, it hurts, it hurts, I don't know what's happening._

_Hero looked at the plants in his mouth with disgust. Hero turned his back on him. Hero cried, and he could not help. He wanted to cry. Hero would not help._

Kel woke up and immediately made for the bathroom. He was louder than he should've been, but panic and nausea pushed his feet forward and he barely made it in time to upend his stomach in the toilet. Maybe he really did get food poisoning.

Sally was crying and he heard someone heading toward the bathroom, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. His stomach _hurt_. He felt like he'd been hit with every stomach bug he'd ever had at once. He was pretty sure he was shaking.

His hair was held back and a warm hand rubbed his back as he started dry-heaving, and he barely made out Hero's voice over the blood rushing through his ears. The hand stayed after he stopped, shivers wracking his frame, and he allowed his older brother to help him stand and lead him to his bed. He was tucked in, and a hand was held to head.

"Kel? Are you feeling okay?" Hero asked him, concern and love written on his face. Kel drank in the sight of his care.

"...Yeah." He eventually lied. He felt better, but by no means did he feel _okay_. He'd woken up most of the house with his outburst, though, and didn't want to bother them any more than he already had. Hero frowned. Kel gave him a tired smile. "Seriously, Hero...I just ate somethin' bad when I went out earlier. 'M fine."

Hero frowned again, but more chastising this time. "Kel..."

Kel chuckled and pushed his face away. "Save it for when I'm not 'bout to pass out, 'kay? It's way too late for this." He said as if he were not the one responsible for waking the house. Although..."And tell Mom 'm sorry about waking Sally up."

Hero sighed, but nodded. He cast one final look over Kel before smoothing out his bangs and standing up. Kel breathed in deeply as he watched Hero leave, placating voices filtering softly through the cracked door. He'd feel worse about being so disruptive once he was calm enough to care. Right now, though...

He turned over on his side and closed his eyes. He had an idea of what he wanted to try and paint tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary:  
> Kel has a nightmare. The setting is the picnic where they all made flower crowns. Kel goes to join when he hears crying. When he turns around, he finds Hero crying in front of Mari's Tree Stump. He angrily asks Kel what he's doing. Kel goes to ask Mari for help with Hero, only to find that the others now had flowers growing out-of-and-around them. Flowers started to grow in his lungs. He wants to ask Hero to help him, but Hero is disgusted and turns his back on him.
> 
> hope thats good ✌

**Author's Note:**

> this was not beta read or edited because it is midnight and im a lazy bitch! youre welcome <3


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